Carrion Crown

Kayl Winterbourne

Description:

Bio:

Born to Lord Augustus Winterbourne and Lady Arienne, in Almas the capital city of the free nation of Andoran). His father was an influential man in the city, and head of the Winterbourne Trading Consortium.

- Has two younger brothers, Gavin and Nicolas, who work for the family business.

- Lord Augustus always believed that he would pass his estate and business holdings on to his eldest son, Kayl.

- Kayl’s uncle, Kristoff van Heldt, was an adventurer and monster hunter by trade. He would often regale the youths of his latest exploits. Gavin and Nicholas adopted their father’s opinion that Kristoff was nothing more than an old blow hard, but the man’s stories sparked Kayl’s imagination and filled him with a sense of wanderlust.

- Augustus could tell what sort of an impact Kristoff was having on his eldest son. In an effort to curb this influence, Augustus banned Kristoff from the property and forbade Kayl from seeing him again.

- In an act of defiance, Kayl enlisted in the Andoran army.

- Kayl was cut off. He had only what coin he’d managed to secure from his family’s estate before he’d left but, despite the pleas of his mother, he was no longer welcome back at the Winterbourne Estate.

- He didn’t care about his loss of status. Without looking back, he left his old life behind him and set out for his first campaign.

- War was bloodier and more brutal than he had imagined. His first skirmishes were against bandits and outlaws along the Andoran/ Taldor border. The young nobleman was forced to toughen up quickly in order to survive the rigors of combat.

- During this campaign he became fast friends with a dwarven engineer/tinker named Kallas Stormhaven. During their off duty hours, the pair spent hours mired in discussion, and the dwarf would often give Kayl glimpses into his latest inventions.

- Despite his pampered upbringing, Kayl rose quickly through the ranks. Not only was he a gifted swordsman, but he had a natural talent for leadership and tactics.

- While visiting the Taldor city of Opara, Kayl’s time in the military came to an end. Upon leaving one of the taverns after a rousing night of drinking, Kayl and Kallas stumbled across their commanding officer, Captain Richter Halden, striking a deal with a group of known slavers in a shady back alley. The Captain offered Kayl coin to keep him quiet, but the idealistic youth could not condone such an abomination and threatened to report Halden.

- Halden and the slavers attacked, and Kayl and Kallas were forced to defend themselves. After the ensuing melee, Halden and the slavers lay dead, and Kallas was dying. Kayl tried to get his friend to the temple, but was unable to save him in time.

- Disillusioned by what he had seen, Kayl decided that he couldn’t go back. For a time, he moped around Opara, drinking himself into oblivion.

Disillusioned by her failure, Riska wandered into a tavern one night and found Kayl drunk and making a spectacle of himself with a number of irritated barmaids.
Amused, Riska joined him for a night of drinking and debauchery, judging from his armor and weapons that he’d be a good mark: she planned to spend the night and escape with his belongings in the morning.

Instead, she found herself drawn to the idealistic warrior. The two spent several days enjoying the town before Riska heard a rumor of Marlin’s killers. Kayl decided to follow her on her quest. The rumor came to nothing, but Kayl and Riska found themselves once more drawn into the world.

Riska’s lust for money drew them into a number of “jobs,” and Kayl found himself a reluctant participant in some shady deals. Desperate to get himself back on the straight and narrow, he took a more active approach in their adventures, steering them towards nobler pursuits. Riska was generally willing to go along — provided the money was good.

You’d be hard pressed to get her to admit it, but Riska has come to care for Kayl and rely on him a great deal. Similarly, Riska is the first woman to truly catch Kayl’s attention long enough to keep him around. He is drawn to her energy, and his responsibility balances her capriciousness.